Grenade explodes at massage parlor

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — A grenade blast roused residents living at the downtown area of this city early morning yesterday, destroying the facade of a building at Iznart Street.

Most of the shrapnels shattered the Royal Dreams Massage Center, one of the tenants of RL Cooper Building, and damaged a portion of the St. Robert’s International Academy.

Although the area was not at all deserted at 1:30 a.m., there were no witnesses to the incident. Except for a tricycle, people in the area did not see any vehicle that passed by at the instance when the explosion occurred.

Superintendent Kim Legada, Iloilo City Police Station 1 chief, said it happened in a few seconds. “There were no prior incident that could suspect anyone that a crime was about to occur.” He added that it was not conclusive that the target of the grenade throwing was the massage center.

According to a security guard assigned at a nearby mall, after they heard the explosion, they immediately went out and saw smoke billowing from the building. He claimed to have not seen anyone near the place except a passenger jeepney that stopped at a distance where a driver checked if one of the vehicle’s tires went off. (FREEMAN)